


bad guys and nice gestures

by spocklee



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 04:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7343992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spocklee/pseuds/spocklee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the flash is a ''''villian''''. cisco isn't buying it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i've read some fics where cisco is a villain and i really liked them and it got me thinking... barry turns to illegal stuff. harrison wells is the real harrison wells. mostly everything is still the same.

It had been a year since the failure of the particle accelerator. STAR Labs was a ghost town. Cisco Ramon was in line at the bank to cash in some reliable patent checks when a voice yelled from the front doors:

 

"Everybody get down on the floor!"

 

Someone behind Cisco: "Oh my god, are you kidding me?" They all bent down to lay on their stomachs. Crime had been on the rise since the accelerator explosion, usually from weirdoes with powers. It wasn't exactly surprising to be held up at the bank anymore, but it was getting old. Cisco leaned his head on his arms and stared at the floor, and wondered how Caitlin's lunch break was going. The thief's voice called out again.

 

"I'll make this quick everyone. I'm only here for two accounts, and then I'll be out of your hair. Ma'am, press that silent alarm button if you want. The police won't be here soon enough anyways, and the guards are tied up outside. In the meantime, could you just direct me to Mr. Infantino and Mr. Kanigher's safe deposit boxes? I would also like you to fill this bag with as much of their money as you can."

 

Cisco rolled his eyes, but the whole room seemed to relax as they heard weren't the ones being robbed. Nobody was going to try and be a hero. Nobody was going to get hurt.

 

There was the sound of the thief and the teller stepping across the marbled floor to the back room, and then back out. Cisco risked a quick look at the thief and felt a surprising rush of anger.

 

The villain was standing there, hands proudly on his hips, one clutching a cartoonish bag full of money. The thing that pissed Cisco off was that he was wearing the red suit that had been stolen from STAR Labs a month ago. The suit that Cisco had designed and made for firefighters, for charity, for everyone to see that STAR Labs still had something good to offer. Here it was, masking a villain, who was smugly announcing his exit.

 

"Thank you everyone for your cooperation! Hope you all have a nice day. I have to get going though."

 

Cisco noticed that a person a few feet away from had their purse clutched to their arm, though the strap was within his reach. He grabbed it, and it stretched taut close to the floor as the owner looked up at him and clutched it tighter-

 

There was a blur where the thief had been, and then a sharp tug on the purse strap as the blur hit it and the thief was tripped and thrown through the glass floor-to-ceiling windows with a crash. A flurry of paper bills was left scattered where he'd flown through the air. People started talking nervously, the teller had screamed, but Cisco was already on his feet and running outside to where the thief had been thrown. He was crumpled against a dumpster, groaning.

 

Cisco yelled, "That's my suit, asshole!"

 

"What the," the guy looked up from rubbing his head, a shallow cut on his cheek from broken glass, "Who the hell?"

 

Cisco could feel his adrenaline fading fast as he realized he was confronting someone with superpowers, but he figured he was already in as deep as shit as he could get, "You stole that suit from STAR labs. I made it. It's for heroes, not creeps like you."

 

The masked man groaned again and stood up. Cisco could hear the crowd of people inside the bank murmuring. He tried not to shake as the thief approached him, or when he leaned in close.

 

"Look. Don't freak out. It's for show, okay?"

 

Cisco didn't have time to ask before the man had grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shoved him to the side, so they were both facing the crowd still inside the bank. A few bold people had their phones out to record everything. Sirens could be heard very faintly in the distance. The villain spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

 

"This man," he shook Cisco a little for emphasis, "tried to stop me," There was a rush of color, and Cisco found himself suddenly standing on the ledge of the roof of the building right next to the bank. The crowd, which a second ago had been only a few feet away, was now looking up at him. There was a shocked hush of gasps. The thief's grip was still on the back of his shirt. They were several stories up.

 

"I want all of you to remember how easy it would be," there was a push at Cisco's back, but the hand on his shirt held him firm on the ledge, "for me to kill him. Right now, in front of all of you. In fact, it would only take me a-"

 

There was the cut-off sound of people screaming, and then Cisco was on a rooftop trying to breath. It was not the same one he had just been standing on. The masked man was stretching a few feet away.

 

"Ugh, I hate doing that. Still, the disappearing-in-the-middle-of-a-sentence trick always gets people. Kind of makes me feel like Bilbo."

 

Cisco couldn't even question the Lord of the Rings reference; he felt like his lungs had stopped. The thief did a double-take, and then suddenly he was kneeling next to him, his hand on Cisco's chest.

 

"Hey, hey hey hey, breathe in. It's okay, you're fine. Nobody's hurt. You're fine, you're fine. I just did that to give everyone a scare. Breathe, breathe."

 

Cisco closed his eyes and focused on the hand on his chest, and his breathing slowed. He took one last deep inhale before breathing out. The hand left his chest, and he opened his eyes to see the man still frowning at him, concerned.

 

"That's why I hate having to do that. You okay now?"

 

Cisco slowly looked him in the eyes, face grimacing, "Of course I'm not okay, what the fuck?"

 

The man blanched, and leaned back on his heels, "Uh, I don't know if you get this, but I could have just killed you now like it was nothing."

 

"Oh, wow, thanks for not murdering me."

 

"Hey! You realize how much you just embarrassed me? There's security footage of me totally eating shit now because you thought it would be fun to trip me-"

 

"I didn't do it for fun, I did it because that's my fucking suit and you stole it!" Cisco tried to stand up and his legs trembled. He leaned against the generator behind him.

 

"Yeah, because I'm a thief! I steal things!"

 

"Oh, I'm soooo sorry. I should be up here thanking you, for not murdering me just because you were clumsy as shit trying to _rob a bank_ , and for stealing my suit, and then for fucking kidnapping me!"

 

"What- I'm not kidnapping you! I just needed to scare all those people or else they wouldn't take me seriously, and then I might actually have to hurt people if I wanted to get anything done!"

 

Cisco rolled his eyes so hard that his shoulders rose and fell with them, "Well excuuuuuse me, princess, for not feeling bad that I almost made your organic-vegan-guilt-free-bullshit criminal lifestyle harder."

 

The man stood up and stared at him in disbelief, "... Are you seriously mouthing off to a supervillain with Zelda references right now?"

 

"Supervillain? Please, I've never even heard of you," Cisco had an abruptly clear image of Caitlin meeting him in heaven decades from now and her finally being able to tell him _I can't believe you thought being a sarcastic wiseass was worth getting killed over._

The man folded his arms, "I'm the Flash. And you haven't heard of me because I only started a month ago."

 

Cisco's eyes narrowed, "When you stole my suit."

 

The Flash sneered, "Yeah, it's real nice. Aerodynamic, friction-resistant," he turned and posed mockingly, "almost as if you made it just for me. Thanks."

 

"I made it for firefighters. You know, people who actually help other people. The opposite of you."

 

The Flash let his pose fall as he sighed; he walked over to the bag of money behind him, picked it up, and walked back over to show Cisco the bills inside.

 

"I thought those all fell out at the bank."

 

"When you tripped me? Yeah. But I went back and picked them up before coming here. Just a bunch of money that used to belong to some real lowlifes who made a fortune off of legally ripping everyone else off, okay? Nobody noticed me come back for it. They were all too busy wondering where you and I had gone."

 

Cisco blinked, and made sure to look unimpressed, "Super-speed, right? Explains why you'd want that suit," he realized something and grinned wickedly, "You probably set your normal clothes on fire a few times before you realized you needed something tougher, huh?"

 

A finger poked him directly in the forehead, but the Flash was already out of reach before Cisco could retaliate, "Hey, I had to do a lot of research to figure out where to get a suit this good. I already know it's for firefighters- I was sneaking around their supplies looking for something to wear when I overheard them talking about a new prototype being made at STAR labs. Then all I had to do was break in and find it. And I wouldn't worry about the fire department. They still don't trust you guys."

 

Cisco's chest fell, "It was supposed to fix that."

 

"Yeah, well," the Flash looked at him and hesitated, and Cisco detected a hint of real guilt, "Hey, man, they don't know what they're missing. This suit is great. If you built another one, I'm sure they'd come around."

 

Cisco smiled even as his brow furrowed, "Dude, are you trying... to comfort me?"

 

The man took a few steps back, his voice already distant again, "If anyone asks, I was an asshole."

 

Cisco would have said, "You were," but the Flash was already gone. He grinned, despite himself, and thought about what he'd said. The suit worked. It was good. It was _great._ He looked out over the roof wall, and the grin fell off his face.

 

"Okay, wait. Where the fuck am I?"

 

-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm compensating for how little swearing is allowed on the CW


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: barry has a gunshot wound in the stomach in this chapter. if that is upsetting, i would skip to the next chapter.

Two weeks later, Cisco was walking down the street eating a burger and looking at his phone and minding his own business. Two seconds later, he found himself on a rooftop. His burger was mangled from the wind.

 

"Oh what the- are you kidding me? Again?"

 

He looked around for the Flash so he could yell at him, but didn't see anyone. There was a shaking cough from the ground, and Cisco looked down to see the Flash at his feet, leaning against the base of the roof's billboard; a generic car ad that said in big white letters _IT DOESN'T GET FASTER THAN THIS_.

 

The Flash was breathing heavily, and clutching at his stomach. Cisco dropped the burger and crouched next to him.

 

"Hey, what happened?"

 

"Gunshot. Guard shot at me. Came from behind a corner, didn't see him," Cisco pulled his hand away and saw the hole in the thick material of the suit. He tried not to gag at the wound behind it. The Flash huffed, either out of laughter or pain.

 

"I heal pretty fast so it's not as bad as it should be, but I think someone's gotta remove it. You know any doctors who wouldn't mind being quiet about this?"

 

Cisco's eyebrows shot up and he gestured helplessly at the wound, "I... Dude, we talked _once_ and now you're asking me-"

 

"Please. I don't know who else to ask."

 

Cisco looked desperately around, as if anyone else was there on the roof with them, before sighing, "STAR labs. I don't know how fast she can get here-"

 

Another rush, and they were in the STAR labs lobby. The Flash dropped Cisco out of his arms with a grunt before falling to the floor, and Cisco processed subconsciously that the villain basically bridal-carried him whenever they went somewhere. Consciously, he pulled out his phone and called Caitlin.

 

"Hey, I'm in the lobby of STAR labs. Bring the stretcher, someone needs your help."

 

-

 

"So... this is the guy who kidnapped you like a month ago."

 

"He didn't actually kidnap me."

 

Caitlin sighed and finished the stitches over the wound, and set the needle on the tray next to the removed bullet; the Flash was still unconscious after fainting from the pain of surgery, "That's so weird. So this _isn't_ that villain you've been complaining to me about for the past few weeks?"

 

"It's the same guy."

 

"Hm."

 

"He was hurt, aren't you like morally obligated as a doctor to help him?"

 

"I am. But you're not," she pressed a bandage across the stitches and raised an eyebrow at Cisco, "Maybe you should have picked a smaller stray to bring home."

 

"It's not like we're _keeping_ him."

 

"Keeping who?" Harrison Wells wheeled into the medical room, then halted, "Uh. Who's our guest?"

 

Cisco stumbled up out of his seat, "Dr. Wells, I can explain-"

 

He rolled forward and examined the unconscious man, "Cisco, isn't this your suit that was stolen?"

 

"Yeah... Yeah. It is. This is the guy who stole it."

 

"The man who kidnapped you?"

 

Caitlin made a gratified noise from the bedside, and Cisco gave her a look over his shoulder before turning back to Dr. Wells, "He's a villain, but he was hurt. He asked me to find him a doctor," Cisco looked down at him, "He calls himself the Flash."

 

Dr. Wells hummed, "You're a very kind person, Cisco. But we're going to have turn him over to the authorities once he's recovered. Dr. Snow, please administer a sedative that will keep him from escaping until then."

 

He began to leave the room, but Cisco stepped in front of him, "Wait! We- we can't."

 

"Cisco."

 

"No, like literally we can't. Caitlin tried to give him anesthetic earlier and he just burned through it. His metabolism can't be sedated with anything we have. The police won't be able to contain him either," Dr. Wells continued looking disappointed, "I promise he isn't dangerous. He only started like two months ago and no reports or civilian sightings on the internet say anything about him hurting anyone. He doesn't even steal from anyone except rich guys."

 

Dr. Wells' expression didn't change, "Sounds like you've been doing research. I'm sorry, but he's not above the law. Now, Caitlin and I will find a way to keep him sedated. You can stay with him though. Dr. Snow?"

 

Caitlin shrugged at him as she stood up and followed Wells out the door, and Cisco called after the two of them, "Wait, aren't you worried I'll let him go?"

 

"If he's as fast as you've been telling us the past month, then he won't need your help to escape. If we don't come up with a solution in time, then, well-" Dr. Wells smiled just slightly, "I guess he's free to go."

 

Caitlin winked at him as she closed the door.

 

Cisco stared at it, relieved and surprised at his relief, when he heard a weak voice behind him.

 

"What was that about?"

 

Cisco turned around. The Flash was awake, although when he tried to sit up, he hissed in pain and fell back against the bed. Cisco walked over to him.

 

"They wanna call the cops once you're healed. And engineer a sedative that works on you, but I think that will take at least two days. Hope you were serious about that super-healing."

 

The Flash closed his eyes, "I really don't need the police involved. I mean, they won't catch me, but still," his eyes suddenly shot open in panic, and his hands darted to his face. He visibly relaxed.

 

"You guys didn't take off my mask."

 

"Caitlin was kind of curious, but I mentioned the Hippocratic Oath and she was all like 'ugh, fine!' Close call."

 

"Mmm," the Flash closed his eyes, "I'm guessing Caitlin's the doctor. Tell me, nurse, how does it look?"

 

Cisco leaned over the bed, eyes sad, "Not very good, I'm afraid."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Yeah. You're still a major douchebag."

 

The Flash laughed, crinkling eyes and a huge smile catching Cisco off-guard, "Ah, come on. I got hurt today, give me a break."

 

Cisco sat down in the bedside chair, "No way. You were probably stealing a kid's lunch money or something."

 

"Ugh, dude, never. I got bullied like every day growing up, I know how much it sucks."

 

"You got bullied? Oh my God, are you a nerd? What am I saying, you made a Lord of the Rings reference right after robbing a bank."

 

"Whatever. You referenced that old Zelda cartoon, which, wasn't even _good._ "

 

"Yeah, and you recognized it," Cisco ignored how comfortable he felt and reminded himself to at least pretend this was awkward, "So... if you weren't stealing lunch money..."

 

The Flash looked off at the wall, "I was trying to steal some info from a military office. They're trying to find and build super-soldiers, you know, typical scary scifi stuff."

 

"Is that what you are? A super-soldier gone rogue?"

 

"What? No. I just heard about this really nasty general and I wanted to do some digging, and then I found out about the files. Uh, and then, you know," he gestured to the bandage over his stomach.

 

Cisco frowned at it, "A guard shot you."

 

"Yeah. He looked pretty freaked out when he realized he actually hit me. I think he thought it was just gonna bounce off or something."

 

"Are you seriously joking about this?"

 

"I mean, I hate guns, but it's not the first time I've been shot at. The first time I've been really hit though," he winced, but grinned through it at Cisco, "Why? You wanna go beat him up for me?"

 

"No, you weirdo."

 

The Flash shrugged, "Okay, okay, you just seemed pretty steamed on my behalf. I'm flattered and everything, but I don't want you getting in trouble trying to avenge me or anything."

 

"God. Can you pass out again?" Cisco leaned back in his chair, watching the calm smile form on the Flash's face, "Do you really not know anybody else who could help?"

 

The smile disappeared, "Only one person knows who I am, and she'd kill me if she knew I let myself get hurt this bad."

 

"Girlfriend?"

 

"Best friend from childhood, who I've been in love with since I was like, ten. She's seeing someone though."

 

"Yikes. She knows you're a villain?"

 

"Yeah. She was the first person I told about my powers. She's the only one who knows," he closed his eyes, "She's pretty mad at me for all the stunts I pull though. Either because it's against the law or because I might get hurt."

 

"Which you did. Maybe she has a point."

 

The Flash sighed deeply, "I got shot today, I don't want to argue."

 

"I'm trying to argue with you about the fact that you got shot."

 

He peeked an eye open at Cisco, "You worried about me?"

 

"Yes. I care about that suit you're putting holes in. Thank God there's a zipper on the front or Caitlin would have had to cut it open."

 

The Flash blinked at him, and looked up at the ceiling, "Um, thanks, by the way. For helping me and not taking off my mask. You didn't have to. And for the suit."

 

"Don't thank me for the suit, just give it back."

 

"Uh, as a villain, I'm gonna do a hard pass on that. Catching on fire sucked."

 

"C'mon, man. Can't you steal a suit from some corrupt part of the government or something?"

 

"Probably. But I like this one. It's perfect."

 

Cisco realized he'd been leaning forward out of his chair, and he pulled himself back, "Oh. Yeah. I mean, how is it perfect? Like give me an Amazon review right now."

 

The Flash wrinkled his nose and folded his hands over his chest, a safe distance above the bandage, "Um... Well the friction resistance, the slim fit, like I run WAY faster in this, the first time I did it was," he took a deep breath, "it was _amazing_. It's pretty strong material, which probably slowed down that bullet and saved my life. And uh... it really does fit me pretty well, which was kind of surprising because my body is kind of... long. Also I like the color. So a pretty solid 5 stars."

 

Cisco caught himself smiling, "Did it really make you faster?"

 

"Dude... it was like a dream. I felt like I was flying. Like I was part of the air or something. Did you really just... make this?"

 

Cisco ran a hand through his hair, hoping it wasn't obvious how happy he was, how nice it felt to get some shameless appreciation, "Yeah. I spent a lot of time on it."

 

The Flash frowned at him, and with another wince sat up in the bed, "Well... I put a big hole in it, so I guess I can't use it anymore. You can have it back. Like you said, I can find something else."

 

"Wait, what? I can fix it pretty easy, it's no big-"

 

"Dude. I'm trying to give it back."

 

Cisco looked down at his hands in his lap, "Yeah, but... As long as you don't do anything really bad in it, I guess I could... let you borrow it. For now."

 

The Flash sat up even straighter, beaming despite the obvious pain, "Really? You'd do that? Are you sure? Like I do feel kind of bad stealing it so if you really want it back-"

 

"It's fine. It sounds like... you're doing pretty decent things as a villain," Cisco shrugged, "Like. You're not the worst. Just try not to keep messing it up, okay? It's your suit but it's still my suit."

 

The Flash looked down at it, and pulled the zipper up, "Our suit."

 

Cisco stared at it, weirdly pleased to see it on something other than a mannequin tucked away in his lab. Had the front of it always looked so plain? The Flash's voice caught his attention.

 

"Hey, um. What's your name?"

 

"Huh?"

 

"Like. Your name, dude. If you're gonna let me use your suit, I should at least know your name."

 

"You can't just use your powers to like, hack my government files or something and find out?"

 

"I'm trying to do this in the least weird way possible."

 

"What's _your_ name?"

 

"No."

 

"Seriously?"

 

He laughed, "That wasn't part of the deal. Was it?"

 

Cisco rubbed his eyes, "Whatever. My name's Cisco."

 

"Cisco?"

 

"Short for Francisco Ramon. Do not call me Francisco."

 

The already familiar little smile formed under the Flash's mask, "Okay. Thank you, Cisco."

 

"You're welcome. Jerk."

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this chapter we subtly learn that i don't know anything about severe injuries


	3. Chapter 3

Barry Allen left as soon as he was sure that he wouldn't re-open his stitches.

 

Cisco had fallen asleep at his bedside, after refusing to leave Barry unsupervised and putting _Star Wars:_ _A New Hope_ on his laptop and setting it at the foot of the bed. The lights had been off, and Barry had tentatively touched Cisco's shoulder in the blue light from the screen as Han Solo and Leia continued arguing in a hallway.

 

"Cisco?"

 

He'd snored. Barry had pulled his hand back, closed the laptop softly, swung his legs out off the bed, and almost left before looking back at Cisco, awkwardly folded up in the plastic chair.

 

He'd picked him up, and placed him in the bed. Tucking him in seemed like overkill, but he made sure the pillow was under his head, and then raced home.

 

Iris found him sitting on the edge of the bathtub, pulling stitches out of his stomach. She leaned against the sink.

 

"You know, you could close the door next time? So if my dad came home he wouldn't just walk by the bathroom and see you tending to a huge hole in your body."

 

Barry didn't look up as he pulled out the last loop of thread, "He's not here, right? And it's not huge, it's barely even there anymore."

 

"He's still on duty," she sounded put-upon as she sat on the edge of the tub with him, "So it looks like I'm going to have to be the one who asks how you managed to get yourself shot. Yeah, I know that's what it was, Barry Allen, don't lie and tell me it's just a bad cut."

 

"The usual way, by someone with a gun. Kind of rude of him. But hey, you know that guy I told you about? The one who made this suit?"

 

"The pretty guy who tripped you at a bank? Yeah. You've definitely told me about him. Many times."

 

"I saw him again. His friend was the one who helped me out. Her name is Caitlin, his name's Cisco. He said I could keep the suit," Barry grinned, feeling proud of himself. Iris glared at him.

 

"Okay... And what if his friend hadn't been able to help you? Barry, you could have _died._ This wasn't just a slip-up, it's a big deal-"

 

Barry tossed the bandage in the trash, reconsidered, then grabbed it and ran out to put it in the garbage can outside where Joe wouldn't see it; it took three seconds, and then he was back sitting next to Iris, "If I couldn't get help, I would have gone to the hospital. Worst possible situation, I would have had to deal with some very confused doctors."

 

"No. Worst possible situation, you'd be dead. Or arrested- Barry, you really think your dad wants to find out you're in prison for being a _supervillain_?"

 

"He's not gonna find out, I'm not gonna get caught."

 

"Oh really? Just like how you're not gonna get shot?" She lifted up his shirt. There was now only a nasty bruise where the hole had been. He pulled his shirt down.

 

"I have to do _something_ with these powers, Iris."

 

"Okay, but does it have to be incredibly dangerous?" before he could answer she just shook her head, "Look. I know you. I trust you to do what's right, even if it's illegal. And I know you don't keep all that money you take anyways, except for what you spend on food. But I don't think this is something you can do alone."

 

"I'm not alone. I have you."

 

She half-smiled and took his hand, "Yeah, but I wasn't able to help you today when you got hurt. You need more than one person in your life, Barry."

 

He smiled softly down at their hands, "Joe?"

 

"Do not tell my dad you are running around stealing things in a mask, he's a police officer but also basically _your_ dad, he'll have a moral conflict and then like, a heart attack. Preferably someone with medical expertise and who doesn't live in our house."

 

He groaned and leaned against the wall, "Iris, you know I'm really bad at meeting new people."

 

She stood up, their hands still linked, "Yes, but promise me you'll try. I'm sick of being the only one who knows. It's a full-time job calling you out on your irrational bullshit all the time."

 

He grinned as she let go, "You'd like Cisco. I've only met him twice and both times he wouldn't stop giving me shit."

 

"That's a start. Now. Promise me you'll get help."

 

"I promise."

 

-

 

Cisco walked into his lab and found the suit folded on his worktable. He paused, and examined the room to see if there was a certain villain lurking behind a curtain or something, but it was empty. He approached the suit. There was a yellow piece of notepad paper:

 

 _Please fix this! It's drafty. Thank you_!

 

Cisco closed his eyes and said quietly to an empty room, "Oh my God."

 

He noticed something smelled like food, and opened his eyes. There was a paper bag next to the suit- there was a burger and fries inside, as well as a small cup with a straw stuck into it. He sipped it cautiously; lemonade. Not his favorite, but cute. There was another note over the fries, with spots of grease leaking through the paper:

 

_Should I pay you? I don't know how this works. But I hope you like Big Belly Burger._

_P.S. When you're done just leave it there! I will come back and get it. Thank you, Cisco!_

Cisco rolled his eyes, only a little fond.

 

-

 

Cisco walked into the lab the day after fixing the suit and found it gone, a piece of pound cake and a cup of still-warm coffee left on the table. His face already felt hot when Caitlin walked in and he almost dropped the cup on the floor.

 

"Hey, Cisco, did you get me and Dr. Wells coffee this morning?"

 

"Huh? Uh-"

 

"I'm guessing no. This wouldn't have anything to do with your criminal boyfriend, would it?"

 

He set the cup down firmly on the table, where he had left the suit folded with a note that just said _Do not pay me. I like food, as long as it's not sour._ Caitlin walked up and leaned against the table, eyebrows raised patiently for gossip.

 

"He's not my boyfriend. We don't even like each other."

 

"Hm. Is that why he made sure to put you in the med-bed before he left so you wouldn't hurt your back in that chair? Some evil scheme of his?"

 

Cisco gritted his teeth at the memory of Dr. Wells and Caitlin finding him asleep in the bed, the Flash gone, "Yeah, to embarrass me probably."

 

Caitlin pursed her lips and twirled her coffee in her hand, "Well, if he was the one who got us coffee, I at least kind of like him."

 

"He's a total nerd."

 

"Cisco, you and I both are professional scientists. We have watched _Dune_ together like four times."

 

"He's a villain, we can't like him."

 

"Oh, but we can save his life," she looked at the ground and Cisco froze as she bent down to pick up a note. It must have come with the coffee and then fallen to the floor. She smiled sweetly at it, and held it out to show him what was written on it.

 

_Thanks, Cisco. You're the best._

"Even if you don't like him, I think he might like you," Cisco groaned and Caitlin looked back at the note, "I can't believe this guy held up a bank. Are you sure he's not a superhero?"

 

-

 

Barry waited outside STAR labs, sitting on a garden wall. The plants had all died from abandonment, and the stars were drowned out by the parking lot floodlights, but he could look at the early moon in the meantime. He had already watched from a distance as Caitlin and the famous Dr. Wells left, but Cisco still hadn't come out of the building. Barry kicked his legs back and forth. It was possible that Cisco hadn't even gone to work that day, but he could wait a few minutes more.

 

He heard the front doors open, and looked away from the darkening sky, and down at Cisco in the distance walking outside with a pair of headphones in and a bag slung over his shoulder. Barry sprung forward, until they were a few feet apart rather than a hundred yards.

 

Cisco looked at him, did a double-take and yelped, "Whoa!"

 

Barry leapt a step back, "Sorry! Sorry."

 

Cisco pulled the headphones off and hung them around his neck, "You're not gonna drag me up to a rooftop?"

 

"Last time I did that you seemed kind of annoyed."

 

"Uh, yeah, because it's a rude thing to do without asking me. Wait, Jesus, you haven't been hurt again, right?" he stepped forward and started examining Barry's torso, and Barry had to step away before Cisco's hand brushed against him.

 

"No! No, I'm fine. I just wanted to ask you something about the suit."

 

"You couldn't just leave a note for it?"

 

Barry reached up to scratch his cheek before remembering he was wearing a mask, "Uh. I wanted to see you."

 

Cisco's doubtful eyebrows jumped, "Oh."

 

Barry held his fist to his mouth, a nervous habit. He hadn't meant to say that, or at least say it like _that._ He coughed and gestured to the metal on his chest, a circle with a lightning bolt through it that hadn't been there before.

 

"I just wanted to ask what this was."

 

Cisco nodded, a proud grin breaking out on his face, "You know. It's like a symbol. Like, the plain red suit just wasn't doing it for me _._ Cool, right?"

 

Barry smiled back, "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

 

Cisco started walking forward, and Barry's stomach fell at the idea that the conversation was over until he heard Cisco still talking. He jogged at a normal pace to catch up with him as Cisco ran a hand through his hair.

 

"I mean, to be fair, it's uh, also a tracking device."

 

"You LoJacked me?"

 

"I LoJacked _our_ suit. If anything happens to it I want to make sure I can still find it."

 

Barry narrowed his eyes at him as they fell into step with each other, walking out of the property gates, "You're not trying to find out my real name, are you?"

 

Cisco shrugged, "Nah, I'm gonna wait for you to tell me. I know where you keep the suit now, but I'm not gonna look up who lives there or anything. Really though, you just keep it at your house in the suburbs?"

 

Barry started to protest but doubled back to another thought, "Wait, what makes you think I'm gonna tell you my name?"

 

"We're... well I don't know if we're friends, but we're doing split custody of a super-suit. My co-worker pulled a bullet out of you," he did not mention the bed thing, "And you waited out in this parking lot for me just to talk. You're not exactly a badboy."

 

Barry felt a prickle of embarrassment at being called out so easily, despite his promise to Iris, "I'm a villain, not part of a boy band."

 

"You're a villain who makes frequent stops to shelters and charity foundations right after stops at banks and houses in the nicest parts of the city," Cisco looked at him sideways, "According to that suit tracker. Also at several grocery stores- you probably have to spend some of that money just on a food budget with your metabolism."

 

Barry stopped, indignant and not sure why, "I'm not telling you my name. What do you think is gonna happen, you and your friends and me are gonna form some superhero team?"

 

Cisco made a face, "Why not?"

 

"You don't even know anything about me!"

 

"Uh, what do you think I'm trying to do right now, dude!"

 

Barry shook his head and held his hands up, "Look. This is... Your friends aren't going to just roll with me suddenly showing up asking for help all the time. I can't- I'm not gonna get you guys involved."

 

Cisco stuck his hands in his pockets, "Sounds like something a hero would say."

 

Barry bit his lip, and told himself to sound harsh, "Well, I'm not. I'm not a hero, Cisco. Sorry. I'm not doing this for anyone but myself. I found out pretty early that sometimes the law doesn't work. It puts the wrong people in prison, and expects them to rot there. So I'm not gonna stand by and wait for the law to fix things anymore."

 

They had come to a street corner, in an empty neighborhood but close enough to a popular street that they could hear people laughing a block away. Cisco stared at him, waiting for him to say more. Then he blinked rapidly and let his eyes fall to the sidewalk.

 

"Okay. Good luck with that. But I'm going home."

 

Barry forced himself to disappear in a haze of red, instead of standing still to watch Cisco as he turned around and walked away.

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> somewhere iris just looked up and sensed barry messing up his chance to make friends and like. sighed soooooooooooo deeply


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a year and two months since the failure of the particle accelerator. STAR Labs was still a ghost town. Cisco Ramon was in line at the bank to cash in some reliable patent checks when a voice yelled from the front doors:

 

"Everybody! Down on the floor!"

 

Cisco looked at the ceiling, "Oh my god, are you kidding me?" They all bent down to lay on their stomachs. He hadn't recognized the voice, but he looked up from the marble floor just in case; it was an unfamiliar man in a parka with goggles, with a familiar gun in his hand. Cisco's mouth dried up.

 

"Oh no."

 

The man in the parka walked by him calmly; he either hadn't heard him or didn't care. Cisco watched him approach the teller.

 

"I'm gonna need everything you have. Now."

 

The room seemed to collectively sigh in disappointment. There was still the silent, miserable hope that nobody would try to be a hero. The thief seemed patient, and there was a chance that nobody would be hurt. Cisco scanned the room and saw a guard pushing himself up from the floor. He quietly pleaded, _no no no. Lay down._

The guard stood up, one hand on his empty belt and the other held out shaking in an attempt at authority. The villain turned to face him, elbow still leaning against the counter as the teller put money in a bag. It was almost comical when he raised his eyebrows.

 

"I spent a lot of time making sure there would be no guards on shift when I came by. But somehow you're still here."

 

The man's voice shook, "I- I came back to get my wallet. I left it here."

 

The villain pushed himself off the counter and aimed the gun at him, "Oh. Well. Tough luck."

 

Cisco was already on his feet and running. He pushed the guard out of range, as the villain pulled the trigger and a haze of freezing white billowed towards him. It was too fast, it was too late to move himself out of the way, but at least the gun wouldn't kill an innocent person, just the man who'd built it-

 

A blur of red, the briefest pressure on his back, and he found himself standing behind the Flash. They were both safely behind the man with the gun, who turned around curiously. People were taking advantage of the confusion to rush out of the bank, the guard ushering them out the door before almost tripping outside himself. Cisco relaxed, before remembering that the Flash was still puffing his chest up instead of running away with everyone else. The Flash turned his head to the side just slightly to speak to Cisco.

 

"You okay?"

 

"Yeah- you gotta get out of here, he's got a cold gun-"

 

The Flash turned his head entirely at that, "Wait, a what?"

 

Cisco didn't answer but grabbed his arm and pulled him down as another cloud of ice rushed at them. Cisco fell to the ground, the Flash collapsed in his lap. They were against the wall. The villain walked confidently toward them, the gun still aimed stiffly at them. Spectators who had remained gathered outside could be heard screaming.

 

"Cisco, my leg, I can't move it-"

 

He looked down. There was a web of frost over the Flash's right boot. Cisco swallowed and looked back up to see that the villain had walked closer. Cisco wrapped his arms around The Flash and tried to shield him as well as he could. The villain stopped a steady two feet away.

 

"This is touching. I know the Flash, but who are you? A sidekick?"

 

"I'm the guy who built that gun, so give it back, asshole," Cisco could feel the Flash huff a morbid laugh in his arms. The villain smirked.

 

"Hm. You can call me Captain Cold. And I should spare your life as thanks for building it then, as long as you get out now. Agreed?"

 

Cisco clenched his jaw, but looked down at the Flash still injured in his lap, "Let me call a friend to help him."

 

"I have a better idea. I've always wanted to team up with the fastest man in central city... Flash, what do you say? Partners?"

 

The Flash pushed himself up out of Cisco's arms in an attempt at defiance, despite clearly gritting his teeth against the pain in his leg, "I don't hurt innocent people. And I don't work with people who do."

 

"That's too bad. If you're not a partner, you're competition," Captain Cold leveled the gun at his head, "and I don't like competition."

 

Cisco shouted no. Cisco lifted a hand, useless but instinctive. Cisco watched, stunned, as his hand tensed and a rolling wave of force shot out of it. It hit Captain Cold and sent him skidding across the frozen floor. The gun was dropped, and clattered between them. Cisco untangled himself from the Flash and scrambled towards it on all fours. He grabbed it just as the faint sound of sirens could be heard barreling closer. He crawled back to the Flash and draped his arm across his  shoulders, the gun tucked under his own arm, pulling him up to a standing position.

 

"We need to get out of here, like, right now."

 

"Cisco, what the hell-"

 

"I don't know! I don't know, but there's like five things that are freaking me out right now but we need to get you out of here."

 

They both stumbled upwards. Captain Cold was starting to move from the floor.

 

Cisco kicked open the emergency exit, and practically pushed the Flash out into the alley, "How does your leg feel?"

 

"Better, but-"

 

"Can you try and make it to STAR labs? Caitlin can take care of you, she should be there-"

 

"I'm not leaving you, Cisco!"

 

"I don't have a criminal history, you do! Get out of here before the cops show up. Here, wait-" he tossed the gun to him, "Take this with you. Please."

 

"Cisco-"

 

"Seriously, get the hell out of here! I'm fine!"

 

The Flash paused. Cisco prepared for an argument, but then he was gone. He collapsed against the wall of the bank in relief, before hearing the sirens get closer. He started running.

 

-

 

Barry fled in and out of the medical room like a flustered bird. Caitlin had asked him questions, and he had a memory of trying to answer them, but in the back of his head was _Cisco is still out there, I don't know if Captain Cold is still loose, if Cisco was hurt, if Cisco was arrested because of me-_

"I'm sure Cisco is fine. He's smart, but he's tough too," Caitlin had squeezed his arm gently; he'd been talking out loud. She had heated the patch of blue skin under his boot, explained how lucky he was to heal fast, and then told him he was good to go. He had almost knocked over an operating table as he ran out. He'd left the gun on a bed.

 

He found Cisco still half a mile from STAR labs, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched as he walked quickly down the street. Barry hesitated, then picked him up and brought them to an alleyway nearby. Dusk was settling; someone in a nearby apartment was cooking something that smelled like smoke. Barry spoke fast.

 

"Hey, Cisco, sorry to grab you without asking but I figured we couldn't just talk in public-"

 

Cisco had already crouched down to look at Barry's leg, "Are you okay? Did you see Caitlin?"

 

"Yeah, yeah," Barry looked down at him, confused, "she said it'd be fine-"

 

"Sit down, I want to see if the suit was damaged."

 

Barry sat down obediently and leaned against the brick wall behind him, thankful that they were a good distance from the dumpsters. He extended a leg for Cisco, kneeling at his side, to prod at, and took the opportunity to shamelessly look over him. Nothing seemed injured, or frozen, or bleeding. He relaxed.

 

Cisco's hand brushed over Barry's leg, and squeezed his ankle thoughtfully. When Cisco seemed satisfied with the leg, he leaned close to Barry's face, practically in his lap at this point, to peer into his eyes. The clinical expression disappeared from his face as he exhaled and leaned his forehead against Barry's.

 

"You're really okay. Thank God."

 

Barry didn't make a joke, didn't flirtatiously imply that Cisco cared. It was obvious he did. He was close enough that he could kiss him, easier than anything. Cisco's eyes were closed, and if Barry wanted to he could count his eyelashes. He waited for Cisco to realize how close they were, he wanted something to happen and at the same time he wanted to stay perfectly still.

 

He murmured, his own eyes feeling heavy as they started to close, "Cisco..."

That was all it took. Cisco's eyelashes fluttered open, and he threw himself backward, falling on his palms.

 

"Wow, sorry, that was... really inappropriate."

 

Barry almost spoke honestly before closing his mouth. He smirked. He drew his knees back and balanced his elbows on them as Cisco wiped his hands on his jeans and stood up.

 

"It's okay, I get it. You have a thing for touching me, who wouldn't?"

 

Cisco rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw, "I don't know, maybe anyone who'd heard you talk for more than ten seconds?"

 

Barry ignored the urge to apologize, but only ended up asking, "You're okay, right?"

 

Cisco tucked his hair behind his ear, "Yeah. I'm fine. I think Cold got arrested."

 

There was a moment of silence. Inside one of the apartment windows above, a man could be heard yelling on a television. Barry brought his knees to his chest.

 

"So. About what happened at the bank..."

 

"Yeah, um," Cisco ducked his head forward, causing his hair to fall loose again like a curtain, "Thanks. For saving me back there."

 

"Huh? Oh yeah, whatever," Barry leaned his chin on his knees, "You built that gun? And that thing you did with your hands... what was that? Are you like me? Dude, that's so cool-"

 

Cisco blew his hair out of his face, "It's not cool, I don't even know what that was," he looked down at his hand, flexing it, "I've never done anything like that before. I don't like it."

 

"Why not? Having powers is great-"

 

"Yeah, maybe if your power is being Sonic the Hedgehog. This is... I don't even know what it is. This could really hurt people. _I_ could really hurt people. This is Anakin, man. Like what if I had killed Captain Cold tonight? Without even thinking about it?"

 

Cisco wouldn't look away from his hand; Barry felt an ache in his throat, "Well, you'd still be alive. I'd consider that a good thing. Which, reminds me, that the reason I saved your life in the first place was because you were about to get yourself killed -"

 

"I'm the one who built that gun. If Captain Cold killed anyone with it, which for all I know he already has- then it's my fault."

 

Barry stood up, "Cisco, no, it's his fault for killing people-"

 

Cisco finally turned to face him, "I built it to stop you."

 

Barry stopped mid-step towards him, "Oh."

 

"Yeah. Back before I'd met you... I'd heard reports of a villain with super-speed. I built it in case you got out of hand, in case the city needed our help. I thought it might prove something..."

 

"... Like that STAR labs could still do some good. Like the suit."

 

Cisco folded his arms tight and looked at his shoes, "Yeah. Apparently what I really should have been working on was better security against thieves," he spoke quieter, "Or maybe telling you it existed in the first place."

 

Barry didn't smile, but he stepped forward, and put a hand cautiously on Cisco's arm. He looked up at him. Barry fought the urge to let go, to disappear.

 

"You risked your life for a stranger today. I don't think you're a bad person, Cisco. And then like, three minutes later you risked your life for _me._ I'm not worried about you hurting me."

 

Cisco smiled weakly, "Yeah, well, don't speak too soon. If you ever became a real villain I still might have to take you down."

 

Barry punched him lightly in the arm, "Damn, I guess that makes you my nemesis. I'll make sure to toe the line, would hate to have you scold me about getting hurt for hours."

 

Cisco smirked and pushed him in the chest, "Whatever, dude. You love it."

 

He didn't say anything back to that. They both found something other than each other to look at; Barry leaned back on his heels as he stared up at the sky turning dark blue, Cisco glanced at a cat boredly watching them from a window. Barry spoke at a cloud.

 

"I was able to save you today because I was passing by, but... I'm not always going to be able to do that. Try to stay out of trouble okay? And don't worry so much."

 

Cisco watched the cat yawn, "I can't promise anything."

 

He risked a glance at Barry, who was rolling his eyes, "You're a real thorn in my side, you know?"

 

"So leave."

 

Barry grinned down at him, "Okay. But I'll see you again, right?"

 

"Whenever you need me."

 

Barry's grin softened, and for a second his face seemed a fraction closer before he was gone.

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leonard cameos and then gets wreckt
> 
> also
> 
> wikipedia: Vibe's sonic waves have the power to disrupt the Speed Force, making him one of the few characters who poses a serious threat to the Flash. For this reason, he is recruited into the JLA by Steve Trevor, which exists to guard against the threat of the main Justice League going rogue.  
> me: haha...... fuck


	5. Chapter 5

Cisco only heard from the Flash twice after that. A month passed by, and first there was a brief encounter on the street (a red streak had flown by, then flown backwards, materialized into the Flash, who had grinned and said 'hi' in broad daylight to him before disappearing again) and a note on his lab table, left next to a simple white box. Cisco searched the lab for the suit before reading it, expecting it to be a maintenance request; but the only thing was the note and the box.

 

_Hey Cisco,_

_Saw this and thought of you._

_P.S. I bought this and all the food with money from my day job, in case you worry about stuff like that._

Cisco beamed, alone in his lab, and pocketed the note. He looked at the box and thought, _If it's a severed head, I'm going to be very upset,_ before opening it. Inside was a set of tools; just a small set, but clearly nice, meant for delicate work. He picked each one up, spun it around to examine it, before putting it back down. He set the kit aside and noticed another note at the bottom of the box.

 

_Build something for yourself for once._

Cisco brushed a thumb over the paper, before folding it up and leaving it on the table. It was a note. It was a friendly gift. It was exhausting to waste time thinking it could be more than that.

 

-

 

Iris cornered him in front of the laundry room.

 

"Hey, Bartholomew."

 

"Hey, Iris. Uh, kind of got my hands full, so if you could-" he awkwardly lifted his laundry basket into view, and she took it out of his hands and set it down on top of the already rumbling machine. She'd beaten him to it.

 

"My load will be done in a few minutes. But since you're here, how's that promise of yours going?"

 

He scratched his head, considered playing dumb, and then gave up, "It's going... somewhere. I saved Cisco's life the other day. And then he saved mine. It was complicated."

 

Iris moved out of the way to lean against the wall, "Yeah, I know, I wrote a whole article about it on my blog. The security video showed everything. Cisco get you somewhere safe?"

 

Barry willed the memory of Cisco's eyelashes in the alleyway not to show on his face, "Kind of. I was able to run to his friend for help. Then I found Cisco later and he made sure I was okay."

 

Iris's face broke into a genuine smile, "Barry! That's great. You're actually making progress, in your own weird little way."

 

Barry thought of the gift he'd left on Cisco's desk, the giddy feeling he'd felt when he saw Cisco on the street that made him feel lighter than running ever had, "Yeah. I think I am."

 

-

Cisco gave an offhand glance at the GPS tracker open on his computer. It was just a habit, like checking twitter or his phone. He glanced again, sensing something familiar about the location.

 

The dot blinked innocently on STAR labs. He closed in on it, and the dot was vaguely inside the building, rather than vaguely outside in the parking lot. He looked around the room, half-expecting some smug grin to catch his eye, but it was empty. He looked back at the screen. He checked the security feeds- empty.

 

He blinked, closed his laptop, and headed up to the roof.

 

The Flash was sitting on the roof wall, his back to the drop behind him. He kicked his feet back and forth, as if he wouldn't fall back three stories if someone so much as pushed him in the chest. Cisco startled, just a little jump in his lungs, when the Flash noticed him and leapt to his feet. He didn't fall backwards. Cisco relaxed.

 

"Hey."

 

"Hey. You have problems with the suit?"

 

"Hm? Nah," the Flash tapped the emblem, "It's good. Perfect as always."

 

It was ridiculous how that still made Cisco so happy so quickly, "Then what else?"

 

"You know all those rich people I've been stealing from?"

 

"Yeah."

 

The Flash's shoulders guiltily rose to his ears, "They've been kind of... hiring people to hunt me down?"

 

"Whoa. Wait, like when you say people, do you mean like, some cute little gumshoe detective? Or like, Boba Fett?"

 

"I could totally beat Boba Fett."

 

"Answer the question."

 

"Maybe like, four gumshoes and three Boba Fetts."

 

Cisco groaned, "Dude. As if the police weren't already enough. And you're not exactly making friends with the other villains."

 

The Flash just yawned, "Don't forget the U.S. government. I have been trying to slow down for awhile though. Um, no pun intended. But I wondered if you had any advice for how to get them off my back."

 

"Off the top of my head, no, because I have no idea what your life is actually like other than seeing you at the occasional bank heist. My only advice would be to let us help you with your little Robin Hood gimmick."

 

The Flash squeezed his eyes shut and whined, but it was a better reaction than the last time Cisco had offered a partnership, "I can't let you guys do that. I don't even know Dr. Wells. And you and Caitlin already help enough, if I got you two hurt-"

 

"Dr. Wells is a little more badass than people give him credit for. He'd probably love working with a scientific wonder, even if it was _technically_ illegal. Caitlin too. She doesn't warm up to people very quickly, but I think she likes you."

 

"I'll... think about it. And we'd all have to meet and talk about it. And even then I'm not promising anything. And even _if_ ," he opened his eyes again and looked at Cisco, "I agree to some team thing, we're not gonna hang out all the time and save the world every weekend or whatever. I'm still a criminal." 

 

"Say what you want, but I still think you're just a good guy in denial."

 

"Really," The Flash leaned his back up against the rooftop wall and crossed his legs, "And why's that?"

 

Cisco started counting on his fingers, "I mean, one, I looked at your records, and you've never killed anyone. Did you know there's this whole blog about you by someone named Iris West? Anyways, you've never even really hurt anyone. A guard broke his arm once, when you pushed him and he fell down some steps. Two, you just winced when I brought that up. Three, there's quite a lot of stories on the internet about people suddenly being saved from muggers and fires by a flash of lightning. One second they're in a burning building and then suddenly they're right outside," the Flash only glanced away in response, but Cisco smiled, "Four, you've saved my life. And bought me a bunch of food. And a gift."

 

"Whatever. You saved my life that one time and you always fix our- the suit. I was just paying you back."

 

Cisco shrugged, "Five, you're pretty relaxed right now. Like you usually are when we talk."

 

The Flash tensed just noticeably, though his voice remained aloof, "So? Villains can't relax?"

 

"You just never really seem like you're gonna hurt me. I mean, even if I didn't know all those other things about you, I just... I feel totally safe right now," Cisco shrugged, "I don't think I could talk to many villains like this."

 

The Flash unfolded his legs and strolled slowly away, his gloved hand trailing against the wall, his face turned out of view, "Yeah? And how many villains do you talk to at all?"

 

Cisco watched him, "You're the only one. I mean, unless you count that time when Captain Cold tried to kill us."

 

The Flash didn't laugh, but he did turn around, "He hasn't bothered you since then, right?"

 

"No. Why, you care?"

 

A shrug, and the Flash returned to ambling around rather than looking at Cisco, "Maybe I just want to be the only villain in your life."

 

"I mean, I don't have any heroes in my life either, if you're so scared of competition."

 

The Flash stopped, and tilted his head at him in confusion, then laughed; sweet and sincere, not mocking at all, "Cisco... you _are_ a hero."

 

"I don't think heroes would talk like this to their villains," Cisco said it quietly. He ignored his own heartbeat and the sweat on his palms that stuck to his fingers when he clenched his hands. The Flash had stopped in front of him, and had folded his arms over his chest. His mask revealed enough that Cisco could see him smirking, though his gaze was gentle.

 

"Oh, so I'm 'your' villain now?"

 

Cisco sighed and refused the bait; the closer they got to being direct, the more they always ended up beating around the bush, a classic case of approaching the limit but never reaching it, "I mean, you refuse to be anything else. So sure. Listen, all this flirting is fun, but I gotta wake up early tomorrow. I have... a date after work. With someone whose name I actually know. I'm not Mary Jane, you're not Spiderman. At least be my ride home."

 

The Flash's arms fell to his sides, and he opened his mouth but nothing came out. He closed it, useless. Cisco sighed again without thinking. He'd been hoping naively to provoke a confession, a cast-aside mask, a phone number. Instead the Flash just rubbed the back of his neck.

 

"Are you sure you want me to know your address?"

 

"Yeah. I don't care. It's on Conway Avenue, Patton Apartments. 489," there were nicer ways to say it. _I trust you, you can know where I live. You won't do anything, you never really do. Sometimes that's the problem._ Regardless, in a gust of wind and blur of streetlights he was no longer on the roof but in front of his apartment building door, standing on the steps of the building's stoop. The Flash stood at the bottom, a big scarlet flag for anyone to see. It didn't matter, not when he could just be in another city by the time the cops showed, but it still seemed strange to see him standing small and alone on the sidewalk in that red outfit like he was just another person. Cisco figured, that for part of the day and in civilian clothes, he must be.

 

"Goodnight, Cisco."

 

He didn't say it coldly or desperately, and Cisco could at least smile down at him for that, "Yeah. Goodnight, Flash."

 

He was gone so quick that Cisco couldn't even watch him leave. The closest thing he could do was wait for the breeze left in his wake to stop rustling his hair.

 

-

 

Barry went to the rooftop of STAR Labs, just in case. He'd gone for the past week, after that night, in case Cisco was still looking at the suit tracker. If he was, he never showed up. Barry kept going, kept waiting just in case, knowing that every night the GPS showed him in the same place, at the same time.

 

Tonight there was a silhouette breaking up the long line of the parapet.

 

Barry could recognize Cisco's back even in the light provided from the nearby parking lot, empty as always. He must have arrived less quietly than he thought, because Cisco said 'hey' without even turning around. Barry walked up to him.

 

"Hey."

 

"Want one?" Barry was about to ask what he meant, when he noticed that Cisco was holding out a piece of licorice. There was one already bitten down in his other hand, and a pack tucked in his pocket. Barry took it. They ate in silence. He finished before Cisco.

 

"Can I, um, have another one? Sorry. Metabolism."

 

Cisco smiled, but handed him another, and watched amused as Barry started eating. Barry stopped.

 

"Dude. What?"

 

Cisco lifted a hand to his face, trying to hide the corner of his growing smile, "Nothing. Just feel _so_ honored to find out that the Flash likes Red Vines. Gonna put it down in my notebook full of important things I'm allowed to know about him. Maybe call the newspaper."

 

Barry pushed him in the shoulder even as he laughed, "Shut up."

 

Cisco looked proud of himself. They stared out over the wall and at the parking lot, eerie and quiet, and the city beyond it, quiet and asleep on a Wednesday night. Barry wished he could take his mask off; the night air was cool. Cisco appraised him sideways.

 

"Hey, whatever happened to that friend of yours you were in love with?"

 

"What? Oh," Barry had panicked for half a second, had jumped to another conclusion before remembering telling him about Iris, "She's... I love her. But not like that. I don't know, not anymore, not for awhile."

 

Cisco hummed and took another bite of licorice. Barry tried to sound conversational.

 

"How did your date go?"

 

"Good."

 

"Good. Um. That's good, you deserve that."

 

Cisco hummed again, "Well, the thing is, it went good. And we went back to his apartment and had sex and that was good," there was the audible sound of Barry swallowing, and Cisco kept talking, "and we saw each other again. And the weird thing is that even though it's good I just... don't care. I already told him it won't work out."

 

Barry's voice cracked, "Why's that?"

 

From the corner of his eye, he could see Cisco grin, and then see the grin turn softer at the edges, "I keep thinking about someone else."

 

Barry hummed. Cisco bit his lip.

 

"But there's no point in thinking about them either."

 

Barry, too fast, "Why? Why's that?"

 

"You know why," Cisco exhaled and then rubbed his hands over his face, "Ugh! What am I even doing right now? I gotta get over this and instead I stayed at work like six hours late just so I could come up here and see you in case you showed up again. I mean I also built a target practice field in our abandoned warehouse, but- wow. Wow, I really have to go home right now and get some sleep, this is ridiculous."

 

Barry reached out as Cisco started walking away, "Wait, I could give you-"

 

"No! No more carpooling. I'm walking home like a regular person who isn't hung up on a guy who robs banks-"

 

"Hey, I only steal from assholes-"

 

"What! Ever! Flash! I'm out!" Cisco had already flung open the door to the stairwell, and now there was really only one last chance to take.

 

"Barry!"

 

Cisco turned around, hand still on the doorknob, glaring and confused, "Who?"

 

"My name is Barry. Bartholomew Allen."

 

Cisco's glare became more thoughtful, and his hand fell from the doorknob, "Okay. Anything else?"

 

Barry could feel his own heartbeat like a thin vibration in his chest, "Go out with me? Let me give you my number?"

 

Cisco stayed at the door, and for a second Barry thought he was going to leave, but he just pushed it closed and walked back over to the roof wall. He walked past Barry, and looked curiously at the parking lot lights, and then back at the roof, to Barry, and then stepped back and looked at his own feet.

 

"Cisco?"

 

His voice was quiet but calm; soft, "Come over here."

 

Barry walked over, to the space right in front of Cisco. He grabbed Barry's shoulders and positioned him a step over, then let his hands slide down Barry's arms and back to his sides. Cisco looked up at him and blinked. Barry could feel his eyes on the parts of his face that his mask left exposed, his eyes, his nose, his mouth. Finally, Cisco's hand reached up and cupped his cheek, the gentle touch separated by the cowl. Cisco's voice was sweet.

 

"Barry. Can I take this off?"

 

Barry opened his mouth and still had to breathe in before an answer came out, "Yeah."

 

Cisco's other hand reached up, and he stepped closer as his fingers found the zipper hidden on the back and pulled it up. His eyes stayed on Barry's face as he tried to lift it back, until his brow furrowed as he stood on the tips of his toes.

 

"Fuck. I really made this hard to take off, huh."

 

Barry laughed, and put his hands under Cisco's elbows to steady him as he fell forward while still trying to remove the mask without tugging off Barry's actual face, "Yeah, you're telling me. Even with super-speed it takes me like 5 seconds, which for me is like, awhile."

 

Cisco muttered a 'shit' as he stepped close enough that their chests were touching, so he could peer around Barry's head for a better look, "After I tried to find the best lighting and everything. Mary fucking Jane never had this problem."

 

"Here, wait-" Barry pulled Cisco's hands off his neck and placed them over his chest, then reached back and pulled the mask off himself. It stung a little as the material pulled at his skin, but the breeze on his face was a relief. Cisco's hands were still pressed flat on his chest, a faint pressure through the thick suit. Barry rubbed the sting off his face and blinked. Cisco was looking up at him, his mouth open just slightly.

 

"That's unfair," he murmured.

 

"Huh? What is?"

 

Cisco looked vaguely irritated, "You were hot this whole time?"

 

Barry's face started burning immediately, "Uh. I mean. I guess?"

 

Cisco's hand came back up to his cheek, and a thumb brushed over the mole below Barry's eye as he relaxed his chin into Cisco's palm, "I mean, I'd be down for whatever you were hiding under there, but you're seriously pushing it, dude. Like I figured you were a nerd under the whole badboy act, but now you also got this whole boy-next-door look and-"

 

"Cisco?" Barry was smiling as Cisco rambled on, still sounding annoyed.

 

"Huh? Yeah?"

 

"Did you um, want to take my mask off for any other reasons?"

 

Cisco's hand twitched against his face, and his eyes widened, "Oh. Oh, yeah. I did. Um. Barry?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Can I kiss you?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Cisco's mouth was soft. His hand stayed on Barry's face, thumb still brushing back and forth across his cheek as he pushed forward slightly. Barry's reached up to push his hair back, and felt the sound Cisco made as much as he heard it. They pulled away, Barry's arms folded loosely behind Cisco's neck.

 

"We could have done that even when I was wearing a mask you know," it was hard to sound joking and breathless at the same time.

 

"Uh, then I would have been kissing the Flash. I wanted to kiss Barry Allen."

 

"You didn't even know my name until like three minutes ago."

 

"Whose fault is that?"

 

Barry rolled his eyes, "So..."

 

"So yeah. Give me your number. Take me on a date."

 

Barry shrugged innocently, "Give you a ride home?"

 

"Nice try. I'm walking home tonight. If you even get near my street I'm gonna end up yelling out my window asking if you wanna come up for coffee."

 

"Yeah. And that would obviously be. Um. Terrible."

 

Cisco tiptoed to kiss him quickly, back on his feet before Barry could respond, "Yeah, because I gotta sleep at some point tonight so I can wake up at 6 am."

 

Barry's hands fell teasingly to Cisco's waist, "You implying that we'd be up all night?"

 

Cisco peeled the hands off his waist delicately, "No, no no no. Don't get excited or anything, hotshot. We'd fool around for like an hour, embarrass ourselves, then lie on my bed and watch as many Star Trek movies as I can put you through."

 

Barry kept his hands to himself, but smiled, "Sounds good. I always fall asleep during _The Search For Spock_ , but just wake me up for the ending. Friday?"

 

"Yeah. 8 pm. Just show up at my apartment."

 

"Cool. Cool."

 

"Yeah. So I'll just. Head home now."

 

Cisco started walking backwards towards the stairwell door with his hands in his pockets, nodding, before running back and kissing him one last time, long and lingering. They broke apart and Cisco shook his head.

 

"God. Still can't believe I get to look at your face now."

 

Barry's eyebrows creased down in concern, "Wait, you know you're gorgeous, right?"

 

"Uh, no, I didn't, but thanks for saying that like it's obvious right before I have to leave. Great timing, Allen," another kiss, "Okay. Shit, seriously. Bye."

 

Barry watched him run back to the stairs and slam the door, and the muffled sound of Cisco from inside shouting 'sorry!' for slamming the door. Barry touched his mouth tentatively. He was a criminal being hunted by the police, every competitive villain in the city, some hired mercenaries, and what he was positive was a secret faction of the army. But Friday was only two days away.

 

Reflexive, but too late and too quiet for anyone to hear, he murmured, "Goodnight, Cisco."

 

-

-

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you guys know that they had to glue the flash mask to grant gustin's face for like the first nine episodes. broooo that suuuuuucks but anyways i found that out while trying to figure out how the fuck that thing actually works bc i started writing that scene and then was like '......lmao wait hold on'
> 
> thanks for reading, sorry it is somehow like over 10k???


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